Chad made a thoughtful face. “Why? I guess there's a lot of reasons. First I wanted to see what the fuss was all about, then we found out that our team was good at it, and then we just kept fighting up the ranks. Plus there's the money.”
“So it's because you found out you were good at it, and want to keep getting the money from it?”
“Yeah, sounds about right. But we have fun. That's the big thing. I'd rather be in the B-ranks enjoying myself than to be at A-rank and miserable. But we seemed to be able to have our cake and eat it, so to speak.”
“I wonder if the others felt that way,” Darin mused aloud. “I don't think I took the fun out of it, but...”
“Maybe it's not you,” Chad said. “Different people need different things to feel fulfilled. I don't blame someone for putting in all the effort to be the best, just like I don't blame someone who wants to take the easier path and have fun.”
“I see your point.”
“But still, there's better ways to handle it than just walking out on your partners. There's points where pushing for your own goals becomes selfish.”
Chad's last statement wasn't directed toward him, but Darin still felt its impact. Was his desire to be on top just him being selfish? Was he just dragging people along for the ride, ones who'd abandon him once they got sick of humoring his whims? That might very well have been the reason that Jon and Leo had left.
Maybe the A-rank division wasn't the only thing that needed to change. Maybe it was better that he changed his outlook a bit. The competitive fire would never leave him, but if it pushed away his comrades? Avalon Online was all about teamwork, and individual players meant very little in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it was his own ego that needed reigning in.
“Thanks for that,” Darin said, standing up. “For both the info and for lending an ear. Good luck in the tournament.”
“Thanks man. And good luck to you,” Chad said, rising and shaking his hand. “I'll see you guys when you get back to the A-rank.”
“We'll see each other before then.”
“Well yeah, but that doesn't sound as cool.”
Darin laughed. “OK. I'll see you then.”
6
Leah sat down in her recliner, a tablet in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, looking over some Avalon Online data. Even in the real world the game continued, at least for those that were aiming for the top ranks.
She had often heard it described as a sports league, where players spent huge amounts of time training and studying for their next matches. The actual tournaments were just a small part of their daily activities. Instead, they spent time honing their skills and analyzing everything from their character builds to their prospective opponents, even to the environments they'd be fighting in.
It might seem overkill at first glance, but Avalon Online was a major e-sports league in its own right, and millions of dollars were at stake every time teams clashed in the tournaments. It was no different than football or basketball in that regard. On its face it was just a game, but there were so many other factors to consider. Fame and fortune were at stake, and the best players focused on being able to squeeze out even the tiniest advantages.
Silver Star had been no different, and old habits died hard. Their new team might not even be qualified for the lowest tournaments yet, but that didn't mean she wanted to just sit and wait for things to happen. There was always some way to get better performance, and even though Leah though it would take time, she also didn't want to waste it if she could help it.
She had to smile at the thought, though. Sitting around playing video games had never been anyone's idea of a solid career choice, at least not back in high school, but it beat her degree in mathematics. Over the past three years Leah had earned far, far more than she would have taking any other career path. So much for conventional wisdom, and for that she was thankful. She could focus her energy on making the team better without feeling it was a waste of time and effort. After all, the better they fared the more they were paid in prize money.
A week's worth of training brought their ad hoc team closer to the average, though Leah thought they still needed a lot of work. That was to be expected, of course, and to her satisfaction Darin seemed to take it all pretty well. It had taken Silver Star months to seriously challenge in the D-ranks, and even longer for them to advance. Even with their previous experience she didn't think it would be too much different the second time around.
And then there was the factor of their new recruits. Both Erika and Taji had shown good progress, but fighting a group of NPCs with predictable attack patterns was far different than fighting a group of other players. Even the lower-ranked teams could spring surprises that a programmed enemy couldn't even fathom.
They could learn. They already showed signs of being able to do just that, taking their mistakes into account and learning from them. A confrontation with a boss-class monster in the Lost City had nearly killed them both, until Darin and Leah pulled out all the stops and managed to defeat the beast. Even so, it had been a close call. Erika's normal strategy of using flash step had failed when the monster used a movement restricting spell, taking away her trump card.
She learned. The next time they went into the Lost City she made use of her other abilities, particularly wraith and sky walk. Wraith allowed her to create distractions, and sky walk made platforms for her to step across, allowing her to stab the monster in its weak points.
Taji had learned as well, though his abilities were far more straightforward. He learned how to take damage, how to mitigate the amount of damage he took, how to draw the enemy's attention to himself, when to attack and defend…
It almost made her seem stagnant, Leah reflected. She continued to use her standard build, one of ranged attacks, destruction magic, and light armor. It served her just fine, but she wondered if there was something missing, something that she could do to create a new way of fighting.
She didn't want to give up her bow. Darin had performed the role in the past, but she was the one that specialized in the technique. Leah didn't want to put any more stress on Taji and Erika either. They had more than enough to deal with at this point. So for now changing weaponry was out of the question.
Changing magic, however, was not. Destruction magic was powerful, but it wasn't the only way to win a battle. Support or manipulation magic could easily turn the tide of battle. Defensive magic could as well, but in her role as a damage dealer it wouldn't be particularly helpful.
She went over builds, wondering what kind of changes she could make. Manipulation magic might be interesting, allowing her to reach different spots on the battlefield or outflank the enemy at a moment's notice. Leah had seen a few archers use Flash Step before, allowing them to quickly get into position for a good shot. But then, that meant trading the killing power of destruction spells, along with some of the versatility.
It wasn't just about dealing damage to the enemy. Used properly, destruction spells were capable of changing the complexion of the battlefield, destroying terrain, creating spots for her teammates to shelter or hide inside, taking away cover from the enemy or even just impeding their footing. Manipulation magic could make up for that a little bit, but not nearly to the same degree. And it also lacked the sheer destructive power of a fireball or shockwave when called for.
Support magic could also help, but Darin already used it. More than one support mage tended to be redundant. So once again, destruction magic seemed to be the best way forward for her archer build.
But maybe it wasn't about what abilities she brought to the fight. It might be more about how she used them. Was there something that she had missed, that so many other players using the same abilities had missed? Leah looked through video highlights of previous matches, looking for something, anything that could give her a clue.
Would it really help, though? She wasn't the only one pouring over the data, search for some way to get an edge on the competition. New ideas were going to be
scarce, and Avalon Online was very much a copycat league. If someone came up with a good idea, it was almost certain that someone else would steal it and try to make it their own. Silver Star had done more than their fair share of that in the past.
Leah took a drink and cycled through some more videos, thinking. Maybe it wasn't about finding something completely new. If they could find a technique or strategy they could refine, that could be their new opening. Even small tweaks could dramatically change the way a team operated. Some shifts were sudden, and some were gradual. She had been preparing for the former once they reached the top, but maybe the later was more likely.
There were other issues with radical changes. Erika and Taji had their own way of doing things, and trying to make them turn on a dime could stunt their development. They didn't have nearly enough free time to learn, either. Like a lot of others in the lower ranks, they still had day jobs. Once they got into the tournament scene and started to rack up wins that might change, but for now they had to be efficient about how they trained.
And then there was the final step they needed to accomplish, the last obstacle in their path before they could be properly be considered a team and enter the D-rank tournaments. In order to gain entry to the arena a team had to complete a dungeon known as the Cave of Origin.
It wouldn't be easy. Leah had been through it once before, but the area was always randomized. Through the magic of virtual reality, players could be sent to what essentially amounted to a pocket dimension and tasked with conquering the dungeon laid out before them. And while they had a general idea of what would happen inside, it was different enough so she couldn't quite be sure.
What Leah did know was that the cave would be a tough test for their team. It needed to be, since it weeded out serious contenders from those who were too unskilled to make the cut. The Cave of Origin contained all manner of enemies, ranging from mobs of grunts, to elites, to bosses that would give even experienced players paused. They would need to use all the skill and teamwork at their disposal.
And then there was the end of the cave. That was the one common element that everyone knew about. Once a team conquered the dungeon they faced one final test: a fight against another four person team, modeled on the fighting styles of a player unit. They might be NPCs, but they were a far greater threat than anything the standard enemies could muster.
That was the final hurdle they needed to clear before they could be considered for the D-rank tournaments, and it wasn't easy. Silver Star had failed twice before finally defeating the challenge, and even then it had been no sure thing. The team they faced at the end was also randomized, and fought with different techniques. They could prepare for them, of course, since their composition was public knowledge. But there was no way to know for sure what they were facing, and no team combination that would be strong against all possibilities. Either they had to bank on being lucky enough to get a favorable matchup, or they had to run a generalist team and rely on their skills to pull them through.
And in some ways, fighting skilled human-sized enemies was more challenging than trying to deal with a huge monster. At least in the second case their opponent had predictable attack patterns. Fighting an equally strong team meant dealing with smaller, quicker foes that could deploy a variety of abilities. What they lacked in sheer power they made up for in versatility.
It would be difficult. Leah just hoped the others wouldn't become discouraged if they ran into a wall. They'd always have more chances, but that wouldn't happen if the team just gave up. How would they react when faced with a real challenge? That was the question that made or broke a team.
“So that's what we're up against,” Leah said as she finished explaining the next steps to Erika and Taji. “We have to clear a raid dungeon geared toward challenging players aiming for the D-rank tournaments. If we get past, we can enter. If not, then we have to start over and keep trying until we do.”
“Will our normal builds work?” Erika asked.
“They should, as long as we're built to work as a team. Remember that. We have to be able to play off everyone's strengths and weaknesses. The Cave of Origin is specifically built to test it.”
“And it's not easy,” Darin added. “We failed the first time around.”
“We failed twice, actually,” Leah corrected him. “But the point stands. If we're not ready then we're going to get chewed up and spat back out.”
“Can't we just go back in and try it again?” Taji asked.
“We can, but it's not just a matter of going back there,” Darin explained. “You're only allowed to challenge once every seven days, so you can't just keep charging in. You have to be prepared.”
“And with the randomization just going back might not be good anyhow,” Leah said. “There's no guarantee that you'll do any better the second timed around. It might end up worse for you, in fact.”
“And the next D-rank tournament is coming up in less than three weeks. Ideally I want to be able to enter that, if that's alright with you.”
“It's fine with me.”
Taji frowned. “Yeah. There's just one thing about it...”
“What?”
“I'm not sure how much time I'm going to be able to devote to this until we get rolling. I have a job in the real world that I need to keep up with, so unless I can really start getting paid here…”
“What's the prize payouts?” Erika asked.
“For the D-rank? It's ten thousand per team member if you come in first place. It scales down to five thousand for second place, one thousand for third and so on.”
“And there's major tournaments every three months, so the most you can make at the D-rank is about a forty thousand a year,” Taji said. “If you come in first every time. That's not a lot, and not very secure.”
“No, but if you climb up into the C-ranks you start to be able to make a lot more. There you get a five thousand dollar payout just for taking part in the tournament.”
“Yeah, but that's going to take a while to get to that level, isn't it?” Taji asked. “And there's others that are spending most of their time training for it. I can't. I have too many bills and debts to pay.”
Darin looked over at Erika. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Is this going to make it tough for you to keep up with your job?”
She shrugged. “Eh, not like I like it that much anyhow. Waitressing doesn't exactly pay that well.”
“Better than nothing,” Taji pointed out.
“Oh, I'm not saying that I hate my job, but if something better comes along then I have no problems dropping it. Of course, I have to pay rent, so I'd like to have some savings before I just walk away...”
Leah spoke up. “If we can qualify this is the perfect opportunity to get into the scene. Right around this time of year they're going through the reseeding.”
“Where they figure out the ranks, right?” Erika asked.
“They're always keeping track of them. Placement in the tournaments does matter. But this is the time it matters the most.”
“Would you mind explaining? I haven't seen much of these ones before. And when I did the rules always seemed to be really confusing.”
“Sure thing. So in this tournament, everyone who participates gets assigned a point value to represent their strength. They take into account the amount of skill points you possess and what kind of abilities you take. Then the teams are put into a pool where they go through a one huge match against everyone else. Teams get points for the kills they make, and the highest scoring teams are put into the tournament bracket.”
“I remember it being complete chaos the times my teams participated,” Taji said.
“It is, at least for the teams that are trying to break in. The top ranked teams get an automatic bid for the tournament bracket, so they don't have to bother going through the mess. But the winning team in the tournament is ranked number one.”
“And that's the key to it,” Darin said,
picking up where she left off. “The top team in a bracket can challenge the lowest ranked team in the next division. If they beat them then they take their spot. Or more precisely, they switch spots.”
“So we'd go up to C-rank and the team we beat would go back down to D-rank?” Erika asked.
“Yeah, that's right.”
“Huh, that's sounds pretty sucky for the losers.”
Leah agreed somewhat, but it was one of the harsh realities of Avalon Online. The success stories, the top teams and the glamour took center stage, but for every major player there were teams that would always be stuck in the middling ranks, teams that could never get traction or would gradually lose their touch and fall out of contention. Even when they were at the top Leah had recognized it. Success and failure were divided by a thin line, and they could cross it at a moment's notice.
And there were two ways that could influence a team. It could put a huge amount of pressure on them, forcing the players to constantly look over their shoulders at anyone that might be catching up to them. Leah knew that plenty of teams in the bottom of their respective divisions had to live in fear that someone below them would take their spot, possibly bumping them down to a lower division. That meant both a financial loss and a diminishing of their status.
They could recover from that setback. Some renewed their determination and made another push, while others fell further back down the ranks and eventually disappeared. Innumerable teams started to free-fall and never recovered. Maybe it was because they had been passed by other teams, or maybe their psyche had been broken and they couldn't regain their ability to fight.
But there was the other side of the coin as well. Many teams used the situation as motivation, as a way to push themselves forward. Instead of looking over their shoulders they looked ahead, trying to put as much distance between them and the bottom as possible. If they were in the top ranks there was no danger of them being sent down to a lower division. On the contrary, it meant being able to push for higher divisions, or once they reached the A- and B-ranks, to attract sponsors.
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